The road to the CFL Draft winds through Waterloo in March, and once again, Saskatchewan will have a strong presence when the league’s top emerging talent gathers for the CFL Invitational Combine on March 6.
For four athletes with ties to this province, the one-day showcase is a chance to punch their ticket to the CFL Combine, set for March 27–29 in Edmonton.
Here are the four athletes set to compete.
Colin McKellar – LB, University of Regina Rams
The Rams’ tackling machine has travelled a long way from Vancouver College to Simon Fraser to Regina — and now to the CFL’s doorstep.
At 6’1”, 225 pounds, McKellar blossomed into the Rams’ defensive heartbeat in 2024, leading the team with 35 tackles, adding a sack, a forced fumble, a pick in the Hardy Cup win over Saskatchewan, and 7.5 postseason tackles. Over three U SPORTS seasons, he recorded 98 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, four pass breakups, and two turnovers.
His invitation to the 2025 U SPORTS East-West Bowl signalled that CFL scouts were circling, and now he gets the chance to prove it.
Anthony Montas Leipert – DL, University of Regina Rams
A homegrown Sheldon-Williams product, Montas Leipert has developed at a steady, relentless pace in green and gold.
The 6’4”, 240-pound defensive lineman took a major step forward in 2025, posting 32 total tackles and two sacks, capping a career of consistent production that included 56 total tackles, 7.5 TFLs, and three sacks in Canada West action.
A 2019 Football Canada Cup champion with Team Saskatchewan, Montas Leipert now gets his biggest stage yet — a chance to show CFL evaluators he can win reps against the country’s best emerging linemen.
Riley Schick – OL, UNIVERSITY OF REGINA RAMS
From nine-man football in Lumsden to walking on with the Regina Thunder to playing inside AT&T Stadium in Texas — nobody’s draft journey looks quite like Riley Schick’s.
The 6’1”, 300-pound Rams interior lineman recently impressed at the 2026 Dream Bowl, earning valuable film at guard after spending almost his entire U SPORTS career at centre. A 2025 Canada West All-Star, Schick also carved out a decorated CJFL career with the Thunder, earning three PFC all-star selections and two CJFL All-Canadian nods.
Schick says the Invitational Combine is “another chance to prove I can do this” — and the CFL is listening.
Johnathon Stevens – DL, Saskatoon Hilltops
If scouts want high motor and big production, the Hilltops’ standout lineman checks every box.
The Eatonia-born, 6’2”, 285-pound defender was a force in the CJFL, earning 2025 All-Star honours and anchoring a Hilltops defence that powered its way to the 2025 Canadian Bowl title. He posted 29 tackles and three sacks in eight games last season and flashed game-breaking ability in 2023 with six sacks, four forced fumbles, and two interceptions.
Stevens even spent time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders during 2025 training camp, and the Invitational Combine gives him another opportunity to raise his stock.
Three more Saskatchewan products have already punched their ticket to the full CFL Combine in Edmonton:
- Ethan Graham – OL, University of Regina Rams
- Charlie Parks – DL, University of Saskatchewan Huskies
- Carson Sombach – DB, University of Regina Rams
That list could grow quickly after March 6.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Prospects who impress in Waterloo will join the national field later in March in Edmonton, where individual testing gives way to padded practices, one-on-ones and full team work — the closest thing to live football before the CFL Draft.
